Book Review: Harvest

This book, Harvest, is a beautiful book to look at and a wonderful resource book for uses of garden plants. Most of the ideas, plans and recipes given in this book were new to me. I had never thought about pickling rhubarb, or using blueberries for dyeing. These are in here plus lemongrass salt scrub, pineapple guava simple syrup and many, many more. Each entry has large colorful pictures along with an introduction about the plant, where and if you can grow it in your garden, when to harvest, a recipe, or directions and then a picture of the finished item.

I loved this hardback books with print which is easy to red and instructions that are plain and easy to follow. I found this book beautiful and full of useful information.

I was given this book by Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: The Water-Saving Garden

With the water-shortages, due to drought, throughout the western parts of the U.S. this book is very timely.

I have a daughter who lives out west and I know the difficulty she has had in finding just the right plants to use that do not require a lot of watering, yet can help the house look beautiful.

The introduction gives different examples of attractive yard arrangements with landscaping and furniture arrangements.

The next chapters, in part two, shares ways to make the garden a water saver, including the type of soil and mulch are best.

Part three talks about choosing native plants and timing planting. Part four is about making the garden look like it has plenty and finally the last section gives a list of over 100 plants that can be used to help create this kind of garden.

This is an excellent resource book for anyone that is interested in water conservation while gardening.

I was given this book by blogging for books in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: The Bee-Friendly Garden

My husband and son began raising bees as a 4-H project, years ago. Then when we discovered that using honey from close to home, allergy symptoms could be lessened, my hubby began again. Unfortunately, even though we live in the country, our bees are in need of more sources of food. So this book, The Bee-Friendly Garden, came into my life just in time for preparing my spring and summer gardens.

In this book, the authors talk about other reasons for having a garden that bees would like to visit, how a person can have one of any size and even how to make a vegetable/fruit garden that bees will love.

In addition the authors help a person design their garden along with a list of plants that can be found in various parts of the country.

This book is a wealth of knowledge that will be useful to anyone that enjoys gardening and the honey that bees provide.

I was given this book by Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Book review: The Postage Stamp Garden

The Postage Stamp Garden is a wonderful resource for anyone who feels like they do not have enough space for a garden. There are different layouts, companion plants, how many plants suggested per person. It is well organized so any information needed is at the fingertips. 
I recommend this to anyone that enjoys eating fresh produce.
Thank you

Book Review: The Allergy-Fighting Garden

The Allergy-Fighting Garden, by Thomas Leo Ogren is a great reference book for anyone that has, or knows someone that has allergies. He begins by explaining the issues that come into creating a allergy-fighting garden. This includes the importance of the sex of a plant and the location of the plants. Then he talks about how to rid an area of mold spores and how to take the fight against sllergies into the communty. 

This is a well-written book that explains each aspect in terms that every reader can understand. I look forward to using this book as I settle in my new home and begin landscaping my yard. I would recommend this book for everyone.

The difference between compost and mulch

http://www.livingspace360.com/index.php/comparing-compost-and-mulch-2-70816/

With the cold weather upon us, it is nice to think about warmer weather. This leads me to think about gardening, compost and mulch. I think many people become confused when it comes to compost and mulch. Hopefully the above article can help clarify the difference. Enjoy